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PAW: Police Accountability Work

FIERCE works to empower LGBTQ Youth of Color to know their rights when it comes to interactions with the police and also work to address root causes of the criminalization and hyper-policing of LGBTQ Youth of Color. FIERCE’s police accountability work has four components:

Youth-led Campaign for An End to Quality of Life Policing

FIERCE’s youth-led campaign has the long-term goal of abolishing Quality of Life Laws as they disproportionally impact homeless communities and low-income communities of color, including LGBTQ youth. FIERCE members are focusing on the short-term goal of reducing the impact of “Sit & Lie” violations. To learn more about how to get involved or support the campaign contact Lee

Know Your Rights Workshops

FIERCE offers free Know Your Rights Workshops by and for LGBTQ Youth of Color who are in Gay-Straight-Alliances, organizations and shelters. Our Know Your Rights trainings are youth-led, interactive and a fun way for LGBTQ Youth of Color to empower ourselves by educating each other on our rights in these times of hyper policing in New York City.

Copwatch

Copwatch is a community self-defense tactic. Copwatch teams of community members legally observe and document police activities using video cameras. Observing police activity can help de-escalate potentially violent and abusive police interactions with our community members. Plus, you have the legal right to observe and document police activity as long as you are standing a “reasonable distance” from the police and are not obstructing them in any way.

FIERCE teams up with People's Justice every Summer to organize Copwatch teams in the West Village during Pride and we participate in Copwatch throughout the year. To learn more about Copwatch and how you can stay safe if you decide to document police activity, check out http://www.copwatchnyc.org/

Communities United Through Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented city-wide campaign to combat unlawful, abusive and discriminatory policing in New York City. FIERCE is a voting member of CPR and active on CPR’s Community Empowerment Working Group and Policy Working Group. As a proud CPR member, our work has been raising the visibility and engagement of LGBTQ youth of color within broader movements to end discriminatory policing.